


The Witch and the Boy Prince

by QueenoftheWallflowers



Category: Good Witch (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, Anthony exists, Baseball, Bookstores, College, Comfort, Cuddling, Death, Drabbles, F/M, Fires, First Dates, Friendship, Good witch, Jealousy, Kissing, Magic, Mention of sex, Missing You, Murder, Nick and Grace, Prince Nick, Reading, Romance, Slow Dancing, Snowed In, Teasing, Weddings, Witch Curses, Witch Grace, Witches, chapter 9 is dark, holiday romance, letterman jacket, mention of dark magic, movie date, nace, not this girl, warnings for chapter 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:37:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheWallflowers/pseuds/QueenoftheWallflowers
Summary: Little drabbles/prompts about Nick and Grace.1. Nick and Grace fight and drink hot chocolate2. Dancing3. Bookstore Date4. Lettermen Jacket5. Snowed In6. Not This Girl7. Comfort8. Missing You9. The Boy Prince and the Witch (warning for this)





	1. Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Good Witch
> 
> Hi! Hope you enjoy this! I was very sad to find out that there are not many works about these two. Let me know what you think!
> 
> I will gladly take any requests/prompts

Nick sat in his room, physic book in his lap as he tried to study. It was a cold winter day, the break was over and he was trying to get back into the swing of things. However, his mind was elsewhere.

Grace was on his mind.

They had gotten into a small argument and she had raced home instead of waiting for him to walk her home.

His mother wanted him to come down during spring break but he didn't want to, Grace thought that he should give her a chance but he didn't want to spend a week with his mother who would probably be too busy working, to spend the day with him. He wants to spend the break with Grace, going to baseball games and playing basketball in his driveway, eating ice cream and watching movies.

Grace argued that he should give her the benefit of the doubt and he pointed out that she didn't know his mother. He had yelled that not life wasn't perfect and no one got lucky to have a witch as a mother.

Grace had grown really quiet and he had watched in horror as her eyes filled with hurt and he watched her flee the library. He had tried to apologize to her but then she ignored him which was fair. He had been lucky that their argument took place in the library in hushed angry whispers. He knew Grace hated the word witch even if that what she was.

Calling Cassie (and Grace) a witch had not been insulting, it was just him wishing that he had a mother who understood him the way Cassie understood everything.

He sighed, he wasn't going to get any studying done thinking about Grace.

He closed his eyes and sighed.  
______________________________________________________

 

He doesn't remember dozing off until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm awake dad."

He opens his eyes and blinks as he finds himself looking at Grace.

Her hair frames her face and her cheeks are red.

"Hey."

He feels embarrassed, his voice is raspy from his nap and Grace's cheeks flush even redder.

"Hey."

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

She reaches for something on his desk and he looks at her.

"Hot chocolate?"

He can't help the smile when he sees that she added sprinkles over his whipped cream.

He reaches for the mug and he feels the warmth sweep int his skin. It's a sharp contrast to how cold it is in the room. He looks at Grace, she's wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt but she's trembling.

"It's cold in here."

Grace jumps up before he can say anything else, heads to his closet and pulls out a blanket. She throws it over him and she sits on his desk, her hot chocolate in hand.

He looks at her. She's all quiet, fidgeting, not like the confident Grace he is used to and sighs.

"Grace, come here."

He places his mug down and lifts his blanket up and she curls up next to him, placing her mug on the table, and she rests her head on his shoulder and sighs.

They are silent for a while and Nick wonders if she is thinking about their fight. He knows he is.

"Grace, I didn't mean to hurt you. I like the fact that you know things. I like that you know when we will have an exam or when it's going to rain. I like that you know things and it doesn't make you weird. it makes you special. You are a witch Grace Russell, and there's nothing wrong with that and I'm sorry that people make you feel that being a witch is bad but it's not. You are a witch but most importantly, you are my best friend and I love you. "

There is a pause and Nick realizes what he said and he panics.

"When I said that earlier I just meant that I wish my mother understood things the way you and your Mom do..."

Grace shifts and she turns to him and wraps her arm around him, burying her head into his neck.

He takes a deep breath and wraps an arm around her, holding her close. 

"I hate fighting with you, Nick."

Her breath tickles his neck and he tightens his arm around her.

"I hate fighting with you, Grace."

They stay in that position and he takes in the smell of her hair and she closes her eyes, feeling warmer than ever.

Finally, she pulls away and she reaches for the physics book and pulls in onto their laps and he groans.

She nudges his shoulder and gives him a smile.

"One hour of studying and then we can do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?"

He is smiling and Grace's cheeks flush red and he sees her eyes dart to his lips and he is tempted to lean in and kiss her softly. He wonders if she will taste like chocolate.

He is shaken out of his thoughts by Grace's laugh and she looks at him.

"Within reason, I'm drawing the line at anything illegal."

He nods in agreement and then presses a kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you."

She blushes as and tucks some hair behind her ear.

"What are friends for?"

That makes him frown because Grace is so much more than just a friend.

"You are my best friend Grace Russell."

She places her mug in the desk and reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"And your mine, Nick Radford."

He placed his mug on the windowsill and turns to look at Grace who has her head bent over the textbook, biting her lip absentmindedly.

He won't ever admit it, but he likes it when she tutors him.  
________________________________________________________________  
An hour passes, and the mugs are cold and the book is closed and they are sitting in silence, hands clasped tight.

Her head rests in his shoulder and he looks at their hands.

Her hand is so small and he can see the chipped nail polish on her fingers and it makes him smile.

She's his best friend, but she's much more than that.

She's his Grace.

He raises their hands and places a kiss on her knuckles.

She looks at him, eyes wide, a soft smile on her face.

She doesn't say anything but simply squeezes his hand.


	2. It began with a Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It started with the dance lessons (or the six dances Nick and Grace shared that meant something)

Nick Radford was not sure what he was thinking, agreeing to let his pretty neighbor Grace Russel teach him on to dance. He had been trying to avoid her because she made him uneasy. She looked at him as if she knew him and it made him feel bare. He told himself that getting involved with the pretty girl next door was trouble but he was drawn to her.  
They stood in the center of his living room, her hand holding his, she took his other hand and placed it on her waist, she stepped closer and his hand tightened on her hip. She was too close. He could smell apples and he struggled to keep his thoughts clean.  
She calmly instructed him how to dance but he messed up, nervous at how short she was and how perfect she seems to fit into his arms.  
Finally, however, they got it down and they danced quietly to the music. His eyes flicked to her lips and then back up only to find her blushing.  
He considered it, kissing her, but he knew it was a bad idea.  
(Grace realized that being persistent in teaching Nick how to dance was a bad idea the second their arms were around each other. His hands held her firmly but one of his thumbs seemed to be moving in circles on her back. And if she was being honest, if Anthony hadn't interrupted them, she might have kissed him.)  
_______________________________________________________________

Nick smiles from the stage as he watches Grace laugh at him. Winning prom king was not something he expected, yet here he was. He turned to the look the girl on his side. Rose Winters smiled back at him and he took her hand as they went to the middle of the dance floor.  
The spotlight was on them and he bit his lip nervously. He felt uncomfortable dancing in front of everyone.  
Rose noticed this.  
“Nick, why don't you pull Grace out to dance, and I'll pull my girlfriend out.”  
Nick squeezed her hand and then dropped it.  
Rose kissed his cheek and then she walked to where her girlfriend was waiting.  
Nick held out a hand to Grace who blushed but let him pull her out.  
She looked gorgeous in her blue dress, and she blushed under his gaze.  
He couldn't help but laugh as she tried to lead him automatically, the way she does every time they dance together.  
“Grace, let me lead.”  
He hissed it out and then she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck, and resting her head into the crook of his neck.  
His hands tighten around her waist.  
____________________________________________

Nick had been talking to Anthony. They were talking about college and Anthony's boyfriend. He was in the middle of how they first met when he feels two arms wrap around him. He felt a chin on his shoulder and he sees the look Anthony gave him and he knew who it was.  
“Mind if I steal Nick for a dance?”  
Anthony gave him a look and Nick willed himself not to blush. Anthony had asked him earlier if he and Grace had finally given in to the sexual tension around them and he had stuttered through a "we are just friends" reply that no one seems to ever buy.  
“He’s all yours.”  
Anthony winked at them and Nick turned to look at Grace and saw her blushing.  
He let her pull him onto the dance floor admiring the red dress and the white roses in her hair.  
The flowers were still perfect despite the long day, but it was expected considering this was Stephanie's and Abby's wedding.  
He looked at the newly married couple on the dance floor, smiles on their faces, swaying as they talked, exchanging kisses.  
He turned back to see Grace watching for her aunt and her new wife, with a soft smile on her face.  
He took her her hand and pulled her close.  
“What were you and Anthony talking about?”  
“His boyfriend.”  
Grace smiled and he was struck again by how beautiful she was.  
Grace was always beautiful but right here right now, with roses in her hair, the lights twinkling above them, the love surrounding them, she was gorgeous.  
His eyes flickered to her lips and then back up.  
She was his best friend, he couldn't lose her, couldn't lose their friendship, he couldn't lose them.  
_______________________________________________-

They are at a party that Grace’s roommate's boyfriend’s fraternity is throwing. He thought the western theme was ridiculous especially when he saw that most of the boys were walking around without shirts and just cowboy hats on. But he changed his mind when Grace walked in behind her roommates, a blush on her cheeks.  
It was obvious that her roommates had dressed her as Nick had never seen Grace own a pair of shorts that were that short but what took him away was the flannel she had tied up. It was his.  
She lite up when she saw him and she made her way towards him.  
“Nick!”  
He wraps an arm around her steadying her.  
She’s ripped out of his arms minutes later and pulled out to the dance floor. He gets into a game of beer pong and loses track of her.  
He's playing with one of Grace's roommate's boyfriend when Grace stumbles into him.  
“Nick!”  
His arms catch her as she looks up at him, eyes wide.  
The other guys snigger and he gives them a dirty look.  
“Having fun?”  
“Come dance with me?”  
“Let me win this game.”  
Grace pouts and he wants to kiss it away and he leans in and presses a kiss to her nose.  
“Give me two minutes.”  
Two minutes later, the game is over and Grace is pulling him onto the dance floor.  
She jumps around, hands in the air and he laughs. But then she is turning around, and his hands find her hips pulling her close as he notices a couple of guys checking her out. Grace wraps her arms around his neck and suddenly they are too close.  
“Grace, baby.” She laughs and throws her head back, grinding against him and he squeezes her hips together.  
He bends his head down and nuzzles her ear.  
She tilts her head and they look eyes and then he kisses her softly. When he pulls back, she looks at him then steps back and his heart drops.  
But she reaches for his hand.  
“Let’s go home, Nick.”  
_______________________________________  
It’s an ordinary night in Middleton. They have graduated from college and the future awaits. Grace has med school and Nick has training for the police academy. But right now, they are acting like teenagers. They sneak out of their houses and they walk hand in hand enjoying the late night, and quietness of the town.  
He has on a pair of black sweat pants and a simple shirt. She has on shorts and one of his t-shirts that fall mid-thigh. (She nearly gave him a heart attack when he saw her climbing out the window.) His hoodie is tied around her waist and she’s looking at him with so much love in his eyes that he can't help but spin her around and kiss her in the middle of the road.  
His hands cup her face and she rises to her tiptoes and he can feel her smile.  
“I love you, Grace.”  
Grace pulls back and she smiles up at him.  
“I love you, Nick.”  
Her arms wind around his neck and his hands find their way to her hips.  
There is no music, but it doesn't matter.  
It’s just them under the street lights, the moon in the sky, the stillness of the town they love.  
It’s just them.  
They sway and every now and then he spins her around and she laughs.  
She's beautiful and before he knows it, he pulls away and he drops to one knee.  
Grace stills and they look at each other.  
Nick takes her hand.  
“Grace, I don't have the ring on me right now because I didn't think I would propose to you in the middle of town at two am but you look so beautiful spinning around and dancing and here I am. When I came to this town, all I wanted was to leave but then you came crashing into my life and you intrigued me. Your good girl attitude, your kindness, your stubbornness. Then you came to teach me how to dance and man I was a goner. I'm in love with the wrinkle in your forehead as you study, the way you laugh when you dance, the way you look when you have flour on your nose, I love the way you make me smile even when we argue. Grace I'm in love with you and I can't think of anyone else I want to spend the rest of my life with. Grace Russell, will you marry me?”  
Grace nods, tears in her eyes and she pulls him up, kissing him. They sway as they kiss and they break apart only for a few seconds before they kiss again.  
Brandon arrives to escort them home fifteen minutes later and he tries to avoid the happy couple who keeps exchanging kisses. He assumes they are drunk but then they get home to find everyone awake and worried (everyone except Cassie who has a twinkle in her eye).  
The happy couple look at their family, and they smile, Nick wraps an arm around Grace and she leaned back, swaying.  
They get shocked looks as no one knew they were together officially.  
“We got engaged.”  
____________________________________________

He can’t get over the fact that he’s a married man, not just any married man but married to Grace Russell. It’s a dream come true.  
They get married in October (five months later), no bridesmaids or groomsmen. Cassie walks Grace up the aisle and they exchange their own vows. She's gorgeous in a lace white dress, with blue roses in her hair. She kisses him when she reaches the aisle and he wipes her tears away and her fingers do the same and it makes everyone laugh.  
The town still can't get over how fast it all happened but everyone knew it would happen eventually.  
Anthony who gave a short speech told everyone about Grace’s “Not this girl” comment that had everyone laughing and Grace blushing, burying her head into her husband’s shoulder.

They sway in the middle of the dance floor, everyone is slowly leaving, and Cassie and the others have started cleaning up but Nick and Grace remain on the dance floor, forehead pressed together smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any ideas, please feel free to share.


	3. Book Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick loves watching Grace in the bookstore, he likes the way she chooses her books, so when their first official date is a bust, he knows what to do to fix it.

Nick had never been the type of guy who enjoyed spending long hours at the book stores. Not to say he didn't like to read but he was more of the I know what I want and will get it type. Grace, on the other hand, she loved to wander aimlessly through the rows, fingers running over the spines, pulling books at random to read their backs before moving on.  
It was something he liked a lot about her.  
Whenever they made the trip to the bookstore (which was once every other month because he couldn't say no to Grace’s pout) he would watch her.  
She would rise on her tiptoes to scan the books on the top shelf and then bend down to see the other books. She would balance on her toes in front of the bookshelves sometimes getting on her knees to examine titles. She would run her hands over titles, pull random books out, reading the back, and either put it back or add to it the pile in his arms.  
She would smile at some books and frown at others.  
It was enchanting.  
Once she examined all the books she would lead him to a table and while he got their hot chocolate, she would sort the books, into three piles.  
One to return to their spot, another for the ones she would buy, and one for maybes.  
When he got back, she would smile as he set her drink in front of her and then frown over what books to get and what to put off for her next trip.  
Sometimes she has him make final decisions, which made him feel special because she listened to his opinion.

Thier trips to the bookstore is one of his favorite things to do with her.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Nick grimaced and Grace gave him a tight smile. He wanted to sink into the floor. After months of pining, he finally got the guts to ask his best friend out on a date. She had said yes, cheeks red and they agreed to go out of town so they wouldn't run into anyone.  
So they picked a restaurant in a nearby town and went there.  
It had been going well.  
He had on a pair of dark jeans and a button shirt. She was in a pretty skirt and a top. He got her flowers and she drove. They talked and sing along with the radio. But once they reached the other town, something shifted.  
This wasn't two best friends getting lunch, this was the start of something new.  
Grace almost knocked over a traffic cone, the waiter spilled Nick's drink on him, they got Grace's order mixed up.  
Nick could see that the date was ending badly and it terrified him that the possibility of a second date would be taken off the table.

They left the restaurant in silence.  
Grace was the one to start the conversation.  
"Nick, maybe it's a sign."  
Nick shook his head, not wanting to admit that he's scared she might be right and she continues to drive, but then he freezes.  
He sees something that changes the whole date around and if it isn't a sign, he doesn't know what is. "Grace, pull over."  
Grace looks at him startled.  
"Pull over and park the car."  
She did so and then he was out of the car and opens the door for her.  
"Come on." She let him drag her along and when she saw where they were going a huge smile appeared on her face.  
The bell signified their arrival and the girl working at the counter greeted them.  
Nick turned to look at Grace.  
"Fifteen minutes, you pick one book for me, I pick one for you. "  
She went on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek and then she was off.  
His eyes followed her with a small fond smile and then he shook his head, heading off to find a book.

He found a book quickly and found a window seat for them and he waited.  
She came back and thrusts a book at him and he laughs as he hands her his choice.  
He opens his book and Grace did the same, tucking her legs under her as he began reading.  
Nick would like to say that he read the book, but the truth is halfway in, he looked up to see Grace reading, her eyes bright, nose wrinkling, cheeks red and he was captivated. He starts to watch her read instead.  
When Grace finishes her book, she looks to see Nick staring at her and she blushes even redder.  
"Nick!"  
"Sorry Grace, you just looked so.... captivated and wow it was beautiful."  
Grace places her book down and moves her body in close and he mimics her movements.  
Nick's hand went to her cheek, and he whispers softly.  
"Grace."  
Then he kissed her. It was soft, hesitant, a perfect first kiss, and when they broke away, she rests her forehead against his before she kisses him again, her hand in his hair, knees pressed against his legs.  
When she pulls away he looks at her a huge smile on his face.  
"I have been wanting to kiss you for a while."  
"Well, now you can kiss me whenever you want."  
And just like that, they are a couple.

They spend the rest of the date talking and joking about the books, exchanging kisses. Before they left, Grace wandered around the store, running her hands over the spines and he followed her. He could see himself doing this with Grace for a long time. Before they left with their purchases, the girl at the front desk showed them some pictures she had taken because they were so cute. She had apologized but she figured they would like them. Shen sent the pictures to their phones and then handed them each a polaroid picture and waved them off. (They went back every year and they always brought their own camera for pictures.)


	4. Lettermen Jacket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace doesn't realize the significance or importance of the jacket. She doesn't understand what it means until a girlfriend tells her.

She doesn't think much about it, it's just a jacket, an article of clothing. It fits him good, emphasizes his strong shoulders and his long arms. It's pretty, a royal blue color with silver letters.  
She won't admit it, but Nick looks really good in the jacket. But then again he looks good in everything. But it's just a jacket, nothing special. Or at least she thought. 

_________________________________________________________________

The first time she wears it, they are coming home from a football game.  
It's an out of town game and Grace doesn't think any of it as he tells her to wear it because she looks cold. She's grateful for the extra layer and Nick smiles as his jacket dwarfs her. She doesn't realize the group of boys deflate as the jacket appears on her shoulders, which was good as she hadn't heard their comments earlier when she went to grab them hot chocolate.  
But Nick did.  
The fact that she looks really cute in the jacket is a bonus. She drives them home, and he admires how the jacket looks on her.  
__________________________________________________

She doesn't think anything when he places it around her shoulders as they walk home one day. It had been raining and the air was chilly and she was cold. She simply smiled at him and pulled the jacket closer. It smells like Nick and makes her feel warm and safe. She didn't notice a nearby group of girls whispering frantically. The same group of girls who had been harassing her earlier that day.  
Nick even manages to convince her to let him take a picture of her by the corn maze they had set up.  
The picture gets over 150 likes and half as many comments.  
(Nick even had to deal with a few texts from his old friends about his new girl and to his surprise Anthony who messaged him about driving down to kick his butt if he hurts Grace.)  
______________________________________________

He gives her his jacket again one night as they heading home from the movies. This time he holds it up so she can slip her hands through the sleeves, it is huge on her but when he sees her smile, his eyes become soft and it makes his heart pound.  
“Looks good on you Grace.” She doesn't notice his coworker snapping a picture of them. She isn't even aware that the picture exists until she sees it on his phone screen. His coworker had captured the exact moment in which they were walking away and he had turned to look at her. Grace sent the picture to herself and whenever she had a bad day, it brought a smile of her face. 

_____________________________________________

Grace was cheering for Nick when the girl next to her, Emily asked her.  
"Which one is yours?"  
Grace pointed to Nick.  
"Number Thirteen."  
Emily flipped her red hair over her shoulder.  
"Ooo he's cute. My boyfriend is number eighteen, from the rival team. How long have you and your boyfriend been together?  
Grace nearly dropped her drink.  
She and Emily knew each other from the baseball games and from whenever she and Nick went to visit her small town for a bookstore trip but she didn't understand what gave her the impression that she and Nick were together.  
"Nick isn't my boyfriend."  
Emily raised an eyebrow.  
"Really?"  
"What gave you that impression?"  
Emily tugged on Grace's jacket.  
"This. You are always wearing it whenever I see you. Boys don't usually give these to just anyone."  
Emily pointed to the jacket next to her.  
"Players and their girlfriends are the only ones who wear these jackets."  
Grace shook her head, curls bouncing around her face, her heart was racing.  
"Nick and I... Nick's my best friend. It's not like that. He's my..."  
Emily gave her a look.  
"Oh honey, you are in deep."  
Emily left Grace to her thoughts but Grace couldn't focus on the game. She jumps up and cheers everything Nick made a hit but her mind was whirling. She had been wearing his jacket for almost a year, how did no one say anything to her? How did she not put it together? 

____________________________________________

The game ended with Nick's team winning and Emily gave her a hug goodbye and a "don't overthink it."  
Grace nodded and waited for Nick to come out of the locker room.  
There were a few girls loitering around and she saw them approach Nick and she felt this uncomfortable emotion in her stomach. Her blood churned and then she was up and walking.  
She squeezed past his teammates.  
When Nick saw her, his eyes light up and her heart began to beat faster.  
How did she not notice the way he looks at her?  
How did she not see that he likes her?  
How did she not realize she likes him?  
"Grace."  
"Nick."  
Then she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him down for a kiss. His lips hesitate for second and she felt panic, what if she read him right but then he was kissing her and his hands were under his jacket on her shirt.  
When they broke apart, the girls were gone and they had huge smiles on their faces.  
Nick's teammates were whistling and grinning but a couple of the girls saw Grace's blush and they scold their boyfriends.  
____________________________________

Nick and Grace walk home ins silence but holding hands.  
Once they got to her house Nick turned to look at her.  
"Grace."  
"Emily told me that girlfriends wear their boyfriend's jackets."  
She tugs on the hem and shrugs.  
"They do."  
"And then I realized that I like the idea of being your girlfriend seeing the girls flirting with you bothered me and the only thing that would change between us is the label, since we already act like a couple."  
Nick laughs and cups her face kissing her briefly.  
"You ruined my plan, I was going to ask you to prom and kiss you under the twinkling lights."  
Grace laughs and wraps her arms around his neck.  
"Well I'm glad it turned out this way, I can now call you boyfriend and steal your clothes.  
"You already do that!"  
"I was talking about your jersey."  
Nick closed his eyes, he liked seeing Grace in his letterman, his name scrawled on the back but seeing her in his jersey.  
He would die a happy man to see her in it.  
Grace smiled seeing the effect the thought had on her new boyfriend.  
"I need to go in."  
"See you tomorrow."  
She kisses him lightly before she went inside.  
________________________________

Brandon and Lor were there with Cassie settings the table.  
"What's got you smiling like that?"  
"Nick is my boyfriend."  
She expected there to be questions or gasps but they all look at each other amused.  
"We know."  
"What? How do you know? We just started dating today."  
This time Brandon and Lori look at her in shock.  
"Wait? Today?"  
Cassie laughs, surprised.  
"We thought you were already dating and just keeping it quiet I mean you wear his jacket all the time."  
Grace felt her cheeks turn red, apparently, she was an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

____________________________________________________  
(Grace uploads the picture of her in Nick's jacket, that his coworker took and captions it "He's not the captian of the football team but this girl loves him anyway. " Anthony had commented "Not this girl" which confused everyone (at least until they heard the story at the wedding reception).


	5. Stuck Inside (Stuck on You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick hates being cooped up inside so when they get snowed in the cabin, it's his worst nightmare. Can Grace convince him otherwise?

Nick had never been the type of kid to sit down and be still. When he was younger he used to tire his parents and his babysitters out with his endless amount of energy and all the time he spent outside. He has never been a fan of being indoors.  
But Grace is.  
Grace enjoys being outside but unlike Nick, she had no problem sitting inside. She would curl up with a book or make cookies or simply take a nap. He would watch her curl up under a blanket and wish that he could do the same. (Sometimes he wonder what she would say if he asked if he could join her.)  
He didn't know how she could do that. 

Grace's love of the colder months, and of staying inside and doing nothing was a mystery to him. He just didn't see what could be so great about staying inside and he told her multiple times. She always looked at him with a secret smile in her eyes and said mysteriously that there were plenty of things to do inside. 

_____________________________________________________________________

They had been stuck inside for two days and he was slowly being driven insane. The snowstorm had hit them out of nowhere and the vacation which was supposed to be full of skiing and sledding and ice-skating turned into them being stuck inside.  
Everyone else seemed to be okay.  
Anthony and his boyfriend, Tom were holed up in their room. Anthony was most likely reading a book while his boyfriend was probably drawing.  
Tom’s sister Ruth was making cookies with Grace in the kitchen and Ruth’s boyfriend was somewhere in the house taking a nap or perhaps running on the treadmill. Ruth's sorority sisters, Mary Anne and Amy were watching a movie.  
He had tried to read but barely lasted an hour.  
Grace had banned him from the kitchen yesterday after he threw flour in her hair.  
He had spent all day after his banishment yesterday on the treadmill. He had spent the first half of his morning with Mary Anne and Amy, and now he could recite all the things that usually happens in the holiday romance movies. He laid down on the couch and sighed.  
This was why he hated the winter seasons, it was cold and he hated being stuck inside.  
He tried to count sheep and when that didn't work he tried going through a book Grace had left on a table with little success.  
He began to debate the pros and cons of heading out into the storm to get some air when Grace came in.  
He darted up when he saw her and took her in.  
She was dressed in a warm sweater, a pair of black sweatpants with fuzzy socks on her feet.  
“Bored?”  
He nodded and she sighed.  
She grabbed the book from him and held out a hand.  
“Come on.”  
She led him to his room, where he had a card game of solitaire going on the floor, skiis thrown in the corner. He watched her removed her sweatpants and curl up under his covers.  
His mouth went suddenly dry and all he could think about what the fact that Grace was pantless in his bed and she smirked at him.  
“Nick’s it's your bed.”  
He nods and crawled in next to her, stiffly.  
She sat up, back against the headboard and cleared her throat and began to read.  
As she read, she ran one hand through his hair and he felt himself growing tired.

He woke up to find Grace pressed against him. He tried to pull away but she mumbled a sleepy "no, stay" and he froze.  
She turned to look at him and gave him a soft smile.  
"So cold. stay."  
She buried her head into his neck and his arm curled around her waist.  
He waited for the panic to fill him, he waited for his blood to pump, for his body to tell him to get up and out, to do something .  
But nothing happened.  
He was content to stay inside, in his warm bed, with Grace.  
They stayed like that for an hour before Grace pulled away from him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and slid back into her sweatpants.  
Then she was out the door.  
He went straight to the treadmill.  
When he got out and after his shower, he found everyone on the couch watching a movie.  
Grace moved her legs so he could sit and then swung them back on his lap, her blanket covering them.  
His hands automatically began to rub her feet and she gave him this smile that made him blush.  


_________________________________________________

He couldn't sleep. All the energy he couldn't use up was there on the surface and he had no way to get rid of it.  
So he slipped out of bed and found Grace on the couch, book in her hand, hot chocolate on the table next to her.  
She closed her book when she saw him.  
"Hi."  
He blinked when he recognized the shirt she was wearing as one of his.  
"Couldn't sleep?"  
Grace shook her head.  
"Mary Anne was talking to her boyfriend Charlie and Amy is watching a horror movie.  
The three girls had been bunking in the same room,  
He had offered up his bed and said he could take the couch but Grace waved it away.  
They also ignored Anthony's suggestion that they share a room.

"How about you Nick?"  
"I have all this energy with nowhere to focus it on."  
Grace got this glint in her eye and he swallowed hard. The room seemed warmer and cozier. More intimate. Grace pushed her mug towards him and opened up her book.  
"Chapter 13..."

He drank the hot chocolate and tried to focus on her reading.  
Every time he felt a burst of energy, Grace would run her foot over his leg, or she would smile at him and he felt himself relax as her words washed over him.  
_____________________________________  
After that, Grace went out of her way to be with him.  
Whenever she noticed he seemed antsy she would be there.  
She read to him, played card gars with him, she even lifted her kitchen ban to attempt to teach him how to make sugar cookies.  
It drives him crazy.  
She drives him crazy.  
She has on fuzzy socks and an oversized sweater or one of his shirts and all he wants to do is kiss her.  
Being inside with Grace is driving him crazy, so crazy that as soon as the storm dies down he jumps at a chance to head outside to attempt to shovel some snow despite Grace's protest that it's too cold.  
She is right.  
While the breath of fresh air did a lot to give him clarity of mind and cure his cabin fear, it did nothing but give him the chills down to his bones.  
He shivered as Grace all but steers him into the bathroom and ordered him to strip and shower.  
He jumped into a warm shower and came out to find clothes waiting in the bathroom for him.  
He came out to find Grace in his bed, nose buried in her book.  
"Hi."  
"Hi."  
He slid under the covers and she looked up at him and nudged his legs. He could feel her fuzzy socks and he recognizes the sweater she was wearing as his. She looked so beautiful and warm and so Grace.  
So he pulled the book down and kissed her.  
It took her less than a second to respond and she swung her legs over him, his hands met bare thighs and he moaned into her mouth and her hands tugged on his hair. When she pulled away, she giggled.  
"I was wondering how long it would take you to do that."

_____________________________________ 

Nick groaned as he woke to howling winds. He buried his head into brown curls and wrapped his arms tighter around his wife. Grace giggled into his collarbone before she placed a light kiss on it.  
"Bad blizzard."  
He moaned.  
"I'm sure we can do something to keep busy."  
She kissed her way up his jaw.  
Nick grinned and then rolled over on top of her, pinning her arms above her head.  
"Something to keep warm, something to focus my energy on."  
Grace smirked and Nick leaned down to kiss it off.  
Grace was right, there was plenty of things to do inside and while winter was never going to be his favorite season, there were good things about the cold.  
Such as spending all day in bed with his wife .


	6. Not This Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Not this girl"  
> These words haunt Grace and have forever set the tone for her and Nick's relationship.

**“Not this girl.” **  
**** Looking back at what she had said the first time she saw him at school, it made her laugh. She had been so sure that she was not going to be like the other girls fawning over him and his pretty face. Yet as it turns out, she was no match for his charm.  
Maybe she should have knocked on wood.  
Or found some magic potion or said some magic spell.  
Because the truth was that she fell for Nick Radford hard and fast.  
She had tried to hard not to fall for him.  
But it was hard, with his boyish charm, his kindness, his smile, his carefree yet caring attitude towards her.  
The first time they danced, if Anthony had not interrupted them, she would have kissed him.  
But Anthony had interrupted them and they didn't kiss. 

____________________________________

But she could not get that moment out of her mind.  
And as she watched him dance with another girl she told herself that this was a stupid crush and she would get over it. She would not be like other girls, falling hopelessly in love with him.  
She and Nick became friends and it was great. Nick was loyal and funny.  
And it grew hard because Nick was also sweet and cute.  
He made her laugh and smile, knew when to push her and when to back off.  
He walked her to class and home, he smiled at her as she studied and he made her hot chocolate.  
He was her best friend and the idea of losing him terrified her.  


When she told Anthony this, he had laughed and then grew serious when she huffed.  
"Face it, Grace. You were a goner the second you laid eyes on him."  
She had swallowed hard, not wanting to believe that.  
Nick was her best friend, she was not like the other girls because he was her best friend.  
_Not this girl._

 _ ___The words echoed in her head and she reminded herself that she and Nick were just friends, best friends. And best friends touch each other, constantly, lingering touches.  
They remind each other to eat and to study.  
They spend all their days together.  
They stand up for each other.  
That was what best friend did, right?  


____

__________________________________________________

So when they had another moment outside in front of Stephanie and all she could think about was pulling his face towards her and sliding onto his lap to kiss regardless of the fact that they were in public, she freaked.  
She could not, would not lose her best friend because of her feelings.  
But then he said things that made her wonder if he had the same feelings too.  
But she couldn't risk it.  
All she could think about was what if they fell apart?  
What if they broke up?  
What if she lost her best friend.”  
So when he started talking, about a girl and it sounded like he was talking about her, she panicked, and she ruined it all.  
She ruined them.  


__________________________

Seeing Nick and Courtney hurt more than she expected and when it ended, she felt guilty because she could have prevented it if she had not suggested Courtney to Nick. She lost a friend but that wasn't what made her feel guilty. She felt guilty because Nick was her best friend and she hurt him by getting involved.  
After that, he kept her at arm's length for a bit.  
But that changed when he sees Brenda and her friends giving her hell.  
Grace can never express how happy she was when he hugged her from behind and how safe she felt.  
Nick didn't realize it but everyone else did, but when Nick was around, she glowed (and vice versa).  
But despite the butterflies in her stomach, the urge to rise to her tiptoes and kiss him, she never said a word, never made a move.  
She could not lose Nick Radford as her best friend.  


___________________________________________

And here she was, at Anthony’s wedding, watching her best friend, talk with stunning redhead.  
Grace eyes the girl's red curls and tall frame. Next, to Nick, they made a striking couple and she feels this wave of jealously and insecurity roll in her, especially when Nick leads her to the dance floor.  
She watches them dance and she turns her head and walks to the bar to ask for another drink.

She had brought Nick as her date but she had made it clear he was welcome to flirt and sleep with anyone he wanted.  
Guess he was taking advantage of that.

He finds her an hour later, arm around the girl's waist.  
"Gwendolyn, this is my best friend Grace. Grace this is Gwendolyn. We are heading out."  
Gwendolyn waves and Grace watches then walk off, Nick's hand resting on her lower back, Gwendlyyn leaning in to whisper, her hands on his ass.  
She gets a look at a long kiss between the two before they head up the elevator.  
_________________________________________  
Nick brings Gwendolyn to Middleton and everyone is charmed by her and her southern accent.  
Grace tries to ignore the looks her mother gives her as Gwendolyn laughs, Nick's arm around her waist.  
They are talking about how they met.  
"I thought there was no way a guy as sweet and funny and attractive as Nick was single, especially at a wedding. But I figured I might as well give it a chance."  
"I'm just glad you went to the wedding."

" I count my blessing every day. I'm glad that Lindsay brought me. It's all thanks to her that I even got the courage to say something. Lindsay and a few others were talking about weddings and missed chances and I saw Nick and I decided I didn't want to be like my friends, regretting not putting myself out and taking a chance. I told myself "Not this girl" and just went for it."

Grace's shoulders stiffen and she can hear her heart pounding.  
All she can focus on are three words.  
_Not this girl._  
_Not this girl.  
Not this girl." ___

__

__

__So this is what heartbreak feels like._ _


	7. Cuddling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 times they cuddled for comfort and the one time it meant more.

1.  
The breakup was not a surprise. Grace knew it was the right decision when Noah announced he was leaving to New York.  
Long-distance relationships were hard and she wanted to focus on college and her future and not a relationship.  
But what was a surprise was how hurt she felt when Noah posted his new relationship, two months after they had broken up.  
She had been looking through Instagram when she stumbled on the picture of Noah and his new girlfriend Amber.  
They were by the pool, his arm around her waist, sunglasses perched on her head.  
He was looking at Amber in a way he had never looked at her.  
She scrolled through both profiles, the happy couple smiling at her and her heart ached.  
She missed having someone special in her life.  
But before she could dwell deeper into the rabbit hole, she received a text from Nick asking her to come over.  
She looked outside and saw that the sun was setting out and wondered what trouble Nick wanted them to get into at 8 PM.

She met him outside and found him waiting outside a truck.  
"Where did you get the truck from?"  
"Borrowed it from a friend."  
She gave him a look and he grabbed her hand.  
"Stop asking questions and let's go."  
She let him lead her to the truck and reached for the radio and she let out a laugh as Nick began to belt out the lyrics.  
Times like these, when it was just her and Nick, she thought she could spend the rest of her life with him, the two of them laughing and taking long car rides together.  


He pulls over and ties a blindfold over her eyes and Grace giggles, her heart thumping loudly.  
She can feel her senses working overtime and she can feel the car stopping and hears the sound of people talking. She smells the popcorn and she is aware of Nick leaving the car when her side no longer feels warm.  
Her curiosity grows as she hears the sound of things moving.  
Then her door opens and she feels Nick grabbing her hands.  
"I got you, Grace."  
He helped her down and she let him lead her around a corner.  
Then the blindfold and she blinks and her mouth drops.  
The trunk of the truck is full of blankets and pillows and she can see a cooler.  
She spun around and throws her arms around him.  
"Nick!"  
He hugs her back and then steps back.  
He scratches the back of his neck, eyes on the ground, pink spreading on his cheeks.  
"I overheard Paige talking about how Merritown was having a drive-in movie and they were showing Grease and I thought it would be a fun surprise."  
Grace reaches for his hand and squeezes it.  
"This is the sweetest thing someone has done for me."  
He squeezes her hand back before he gestures to the car and bows.  
She wrinkles her nose and laughs as he helps her up.  
"Make yourself comfortable," I'm going to grab some popcorn."  
She scrolls through her Instagram passing pictures of Anthony and his boyfriend, Courtney and her new boyfriend, Noah and Amber, Paige and her girlfriend, Brenda and her boyfriend but the pain of loneliness isn't there.  
As long as she has Nick, she isn't lonely.  
Nick comes back before she can dwell too deeply at that thought.  


She doesn't pay too much attention to the movie.  
His arm is pressed against her and she is aware of it, but as she watched Sandy and Danny sing, she turns to see Nick mouthing the words. He gives her a smile and it hits her that Nick is better than a boyfriend.  
He's her best friend.  
So she curls up closer and he wraps an arm around her shoulders and their legs bump into each other in time to the songs.

They don't leave right when the movie ends, deciding to stay for the second feature which is Mamma Mia.  
However by now its colder and Grace is in shorts and therefor is now cold so Nick after catching her shivering and pulling the blanket tighter, spread his legs and when he looks at her he doesn't say anything but she understands him, so she crawls in between his spread legs and leans back.  
His arms encircle her and she sighs, feeling how warm he is.  
Somewhere in the middle of the movie, their fingers find each other and she feels Nick press his lips to her hair. 

* * *

2\. Grace wakes up to the sound of a basketball pounding the backboard.  
When she looks at the clock, she feels anger in her blood.  
It's 8 AM, and she had been working on a paper the night before. She's tired and all she wants to do is sleep.  
So she marches out, not caring that she's in a tank top and a pair of sweat pants (that are Nick's) to tell Nick off.  
"Nick!"  
When he turns around, basketball in his hand, all her anger vanishes.  
He looks horrible.  
His eyes are red and his grip on the ball is too tight. He's still in pajamas but his knuckles are bleeding.  
He takes in her appearance.  
"Sorry for waking you."  
"It's okay."  
She walks slowly towards him and pulls the basketball away from him, then wraps her arms around him. It takes a few seconds but then he is hugging her tightly, his fingers digging into her hips and nose nuzzling her neck.  
They stay like that until she hides a yawn in his shoulder.  
He pulls away and clenches his jaw.  
"Sorry, I'll let you sleep."  


Grace makes a split-second decision and reaches for his hand.  
She leads him to her room. He sits on the bed and she disinfects his bleeding knuckles and then she pushes him gently.  
He tenses when she curls up next to him but she pulls his arm around her and she sighs. s  
She's on the verge of falling asleep when he whispers,  
"My mom is getting married."  
He sounds like a scared little boy.  
"She's marrying some lawyer and he has two kids and she was gushing about them, on facebook. She didn't even tell me, I had to find out from social media. Its like she doesn't even care about me anymore."  
Grace places a kiss on his knuckles before she turns around to wrap her arms around his shoulder, her finger in his hair and she presses herself closer.  
"I care, I care about you Nick."  
Nick laughs and she can feel his teras on her hair but he doesn't let go.  
His arm tightens around her waist and she presses a kiss to the underside of his jaw.  
(Cassie finds them later asleep.)

* * *

3\. Grace is an overachiever. Everyone knows this. She studies for exams days before and she's the type to write a paper as soon as it's assigned as opposed to doing it a few days before. She had high scores on her AP exams and her tests. So it comes to a shock when she gets a rejection letter.  
Grace's eyes tear up and she rushes out from the room. Her legs hurt and her heart is pounding but she doesn't stop until she is at the treehouse.  
  
No one would find her here.  
And she knows its silly to be so heartbroken over a rejection letter, especially because it's not one of her top choices but all she can think about are Brenda's cruel words and it all comes out.  
She's scared, she's graduating soon an then she will be away from her family, away from Nick.  
She will be all alone and she is scared.  


She freezes when she hears someone climbing up and her hand curls around a baseball bat.  
She recognizes the mop of black hair.  
"Nick?"  
He grins at her.  
"How did you..?"  
"Anthony told me abot this place, said you like to hide out here sometimes."  
He sits down next to her and she leans her head on his shoulder.  


Soft music plays from his phone as he runs his fingers through her hair, her head on his lap, his sweater covering her and him looking out the window.  
He can't help but adore how the sunset hits her face and makes her look magical.  
They don't talk about college or rejection letters, that doesn't matter.  
For that evening it's just them and Nick's phone.

* * *

4\. Grace is pretty. Anthony knows it, Brenda knows it, Nick knows it.  
So it shouldn't come as a surprise when another guy hits on Grace at a party he begged her to come too.  
Grace had dragged her feet but once they get there Paige shoves a drink into her hands and pulls them to the dancefloor.  
He had gone to get them more drinks when he sees Darwin approach Grace. Darwin is captain of the football team and a flirt. He has flirted with Grace before but never has she been interested.  
But tonight, with a drink in her hand, and alcohol in her stomach, she laughing with him, head tilted up, hand on his arm and he feels sick. She's pretty in her simple dress and the smile on her face only emphasizes that.  
Nick knows he has no claim to Grace. She's his best friend nothing more but it doesn't stop him from wanting more.  
He wants to be more than Grace's best friend.  
He wants to be her boyfriend.  


He feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to see Paige, she looks over to where Grace and Darwin are flirting and gives him a sad smile.  
"you shoudl tell her."  
"Nothing to tell."  
She doesn't push the issue but instead drags him along behind her and pushes another drink into his hand.  
Then she drags him to the where people are playing beer pong.  
He laughs and smiles and drinks but every time a girl asks him to dance he turns her down gently, they all give him looks as they look at Grace across the room who is now on the couch Darwin, his hand on her knee.  
But then he sees Grace and Darwin leave the room and he says yes to the next girl who asks him to dance.  


Ten minutes later they are making out against the wall.  
"Want to get out of here?"  
He nods and let her leads him down the hallway.  
They pass by the bathroom where Paige and her girlfriend are coming out.  


She takes one look at him and whispers something to her girlfriend before she reaches for his hand.  
"Sorry Brenda, I need to borrow Nick."  
She shoved him into the bathroom and locked the door.  
"Are you seriously drunk enough to almost hook up with Brenda?"  
His head hurts and all he wants to do is lay down.  
So he climbs into the bathtub ignoring Paige.  
"Nick! Don't do that. ."  
The door opens and he hears Paige talking but he's too busy reaching for a towel because he's cold.  
Paige turns to look at him and she sighs.  
Her girlfriend comes back with some pillows, blankets, and with a tipsy Grace.  
Grace takes one look at him and then crawls into the tub with him ignoring Paige.  
"O my god what I am going to do you with idiots."  
Grace tug a blanket over them and rests her head on his chest, his arms wrap around her.  
He feels tired and his eyes close and he presses a kiss to her hair.  
Grace snuggles in closer and as he closes his eyes he hears Paige and her girlfriend.  
"Let them sleep. they look good, babe."  
"Idiota, they are both idiots."  
But it doesn't matter, he's warm and Grace is in his arms and not with a jerk.  


* * *

5\. Their last night in Middletown is bittersweet, they had spent the day with family and with a few friends before they went to the lakehouse.  
In less than eight hours they will be on their way to college.  
They are laying next to each other, her back to his front, fingers entwined over her stomach, Nick has never felt so far from Grace.  
She won't be there to play basketball with him when he's having a bad day and he won't be there to remind her to take a break from studying. There will be no more hot chocolate on cold nights, no more laying in each other's beds.  
She won't be next door to him anymore.  
And that hurts.  
He squeezes her fingers and she turns to look at him.  
"Nick."  
He looks at her and suddenly he has to know. He has to know what it's like to touch her, he has to know what it's like to kiss her.  
"Grace."  


He places his hand on the bed and sits up and she follows suit and then he kisses her softly, giving her enough time and space to reject him.  
But she doesn't./  
Instead, she shoves her hand into his hair and kisses him back.  
Its everything he thought it would be and more.  


They break away and they look at each other.  
He's not sure how but then she in his lap and running her hands down his back, his hands cupping her ass as they kiss.  
She scratches the back of his head and he lets out a moan and she pulls away, her eyes dark.  
Then she goes for his neck and he moans, his hands sliding up under her shirt.  
"May I?"  
She nods.

* * *

+1 He's not ashamed to admit that before Grace the furthest he got was second base with a few girls at party.  
So he not sure what to do after he and Grace have sex.  
But she curls up in his arms, her nose nuzzling his neck, their legs intertwined.  


It feels right, it feel normal, it's them (with or without their clothes).  
It doesn't change the fact that they are heading to two different colleges miles apart in less than four hours or that it's about 3 AM and they have to be up at 8 AM to head back Middleton and leave town at 11 AM right now all that matters them.  
They don't' talk about what happens next.  
There are no whispered declarations of love, they know that they love each other.  


He presses a kiss to her head, his hand running through her hair, down her spine and down the curve of her ass and she runs her lips down his neck, her fingers digging into his stomach on the other. side. It's him and Grace. So much has changed between them in the span of six hours, but this position, arms around each other, comforting each other, that's normal. That's them/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! My birthday is today so I decided to give you all the gift of a longish chapter, which connects to the next chapter! Enjoy!


	8. Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distance makes the heart grow fonder (College distance) (connected to Chapter 7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 is dedicated to BlueLikeTheSea who asked for "them going away for separate college and realizing how much they miss each other?"  
> Hope you liked this.

Grace sighed as she threw her phone on the bed next to her.  
She was miserable.  
It had been a long weekend, with everything going wrong.  
She had overslept and missed a pop quiz in one of her lectures. She missed a discussion section, turned a paper in two minutes past the deadline. She had been sexiled from her room three times this week, having to sleep on a couch as her roommate had recently been dumped and had taken to bringing random people back to the room to sleep with.  
She was tired, cranky, and just done. All she wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep.  
She had called Nick but he hadn't picked up and even though she knew it was silly, she couldn't help but picture him surrounded by a bunch of pretty girls. She knew it was silly as Nick was crazy about her (or so everyone said) but with the week she had, news that Nick was dumping her wouldn't have been the biggest surprise. Not that they were together.  
Grace glared at her phone as if Nick could feel it. She sighed and lifted her hips shrugging off her jeans.  
So she couldn't spend the rest of her day talking to Nick it didn't mean she couldn't sleep.  
She laid on her side, her arms curled up around a stuffed cat and signed into her Netflix. She picked a show and with the sound of it playing it the background, she drifted to sleep. 

* * *

She woke up to the sound of someone pounding on her door.

Her alarm clock says it 5 PM and she realized that she must have knocked out.

A quick glance at the bed next to her showed her that Shannon had been in and left.  
There was a muffin on her desk and she sighed. Shannon was a good roommate, when she wasn't bringing people back to sleep with (which to be fair, she wouldn't have learned about if her class hadn't been canceled and she hadn't caught them in the act).  
The pounding on the door continued.  
"Grace!"

It was her RA.  
The first time Grace met the girl, she thought she a freshman.  
Kayla was small, with hair that she seemed to dye a new color every month, (it was currently, a bright blue) a blinding smile, a loud voice, and a hulking boyfriend.  
Kayla had sat with them listening to them talk before she jumped up and introduced herself.  
Everyone thought it was a joke until her boyfriend came into the room.  
Her boyfriend was the male RA and with his height an impressive figure, everyone knew he meant business.  
But Kayla had earned their respect when a couple of the guys saw her in the boxing ring. Grace opened the door, not caring that she was just in her underwear and Nick's baseball jersey.  
"Ys?"  
Kayla's eyes flickered downward and she grinned mischievously.  
"Blake needs to talk to you."  
Grace shrugged, not caring about her near nakedness and shuffled out the door.  
She knocked on the door, Kayla following her.  
"Blake?"  
She froze as Blake turned toward her revealing the person he was talking to.  
"Nick?"  
Nick smiled sheepishly, a bag in his hand, leather jacket in him.  
"Hi."  
She leaps into his arms and he caught her swaying a bit.  
They pull away to see the two RAs grinning.  
"So Nick is considered at Blake's guest, but as tonight is date night, so he's staying with you. You are lucky that Blake recognized him from your pictures."  
Kayla ushers them out the door and Nick grabs her hand.  
Once they were in their room, he drops his bag and then just looks her up and down.  
He licks his lips, swallowing hard and grace feels her cheeks turn pink.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I wanted to see you. I knew you were having a hard week and I really missed you."  
She steps into his arms and hugs him tightly.  
"I missed you too."

* * *

They curl up in her bed, Nick changing into sweats he had brought. He plays with a strand of her hair and they watch Netflix.  
He missed this  
He missed spending time with Grace, his hand in her hair.  
He missed his best friend.  
He missed being able to see every day and touching her.  
Phone calls and facetime calls weren't cutting it anymore.

When she had called him stressed and crying earlier that week he had begun to make plans.  
He asked some friends to take notes, finished a paper, and trades shifts so he could spend three days with her. Then as soon as he left his Thursday class at noon, he made the drive, secure knowing that his friends in his next two classes were taking notes for him.  
The drive was long but seeing the smile on Grace's face was worth it.  
He presses a kiss to her shoulder and she tilts her face to meet his.  
She kisses him softly, her hand on his jaw before she turns her body into his, their legs slanting together. He has a hand in her hair and she has one gripping his shoulder.  
They kiss until they need to breathe.  
"Have I mentioned that I really really miss you?"  
"I missed you so much, Nick."  
He presses a kiss to her forehead and she sighs.  
It hits him that this is the first time they have kissed since their last day in Middleton. They had shared a brief kiss before they went off in different directions but since then this was the first time they were together.

He knew kissing and sleeping with Grace right before they left for college would be a mistake because he knew he could never have just one night with her, he wanted her for as long as she wanted him.  
He spent days and weeks missing her.  
He introduced her as his girlfriend to anyone, despite them not putting a label on what they were, it was easier to keep girls at bay and Grace never corrected his roommates or his friends when they referred to her as his girlfriend during their facetime sessions.

* * *

Grace looks at Nick's and tilts her head to kiss him again, this time she to get on top and his hands head south cupping her ass she kisses him.  
They are so into each other they don't hear the door open until the sound of something falling make them jerk their heads up.

Thier eyes are wide as they take in Grace's roommate Shannon.  
Her eyes flicker up and down and then she grins.  
"He's even cuter in person."  
She spun around and began shoving stuff in a bag while Grace's cheeks went pink as Nick looked at her.  
"See you Monday! There are some condoms in the drawer and please try to keep away from my bed."  
then Shannon left.  
There was a moment of silence until Grace buries her head into his shoulder, laughter causing her body to shake.  
"I like her."

Grace rolls off him but his arms wrap themselves around her waist bringing her close to him.  
"So my plans for the weekend ar to stay in bed with you until its time for me to leave."  
Grace smiles.  
"Sounds good to me."  
She had missed him so much, the next four day of being with him made her really really happy.


	9. The Boy Prince and His Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Nick meets Grace the Witch during one of the worst times for witches to be around.  
> AN: This is really dark  
> Trigger Warnings: death, murder, burning, suicide, poison, abortions (in a sense) violence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favorite one to write because one it was Nick-centric and two it takes place during a different time period and three, this is what inspired the title (this and the costumes they wore in the show)
> 
> An: If you think I should change the warnings or adds tags for this let me know.

The first time Prince Nick met a witch, he was a little boy.  
The witch was a pretty woman, with dark hair and pretty, smiling eyes. She curtseyed in front of him and gave him a shiny coin when his mother wasn't looking.

She was kind and all-knowing but even she didn't have the ability to help his mother.  
He was six, the first time he saw a witch burn.  
She screams as the flames rise and he watches his mother's glass of wine shatter, staining her dress red, but all eyes are on the witch. He dreams of fire and screams, wakes up to a scream in his throat.

* * *

The next witch who burns is young, barely sixteen with bright red hair and green eyes.  
They had found her gathering herbs, healing the sick, doing good.  
But the guards drag her to the palace anyway.  
She lasts a month before she is killed.  
She cups her belly as she watches the guards light the fire.  
She walks toward the fire, head held high,hands behind her back, child in her stomach on display and everyone watches in silence.  
She burns, brightly, her red hair matching the flames.  
It's a beautiful (terrible) sight.  
He is eight.

* * *

The next witch (warlock) is male. He's old and thin. He looks like a gust of wind can blow him away but as the guards carry him in, his eyes are bright.  
He tears apart the library and Nick watches the man's hands tremble as he reads the last book.  
Nick finds him hanging the next day. He is twelve.

* * *

Four more witches die.  
The oldest is a great-grandmother, the youngest is her seven-year-old great-granddaughter.  
He begs his mother to spare the girl and instead the girl drinks a cup laced with poison.  
He holds her in his arms as her eyes flutter close the word "grace" in her lips.  
Six warlocks die.  
The oldest is thirty-five, the youngest is sixteen.  
He listens as the boy hurls insults to his mother, to the guards, to him. He is sixteen and tired of witches and warlocks dying all because they are unable to lift his mother's curse.

* * *

The next two witches are sisters. One is tall, slender, cold, an enchantress around men, the other is shorter, kinder, motherly, a good witch. The taller one knows her flowers and her positions and spends days cataloging plants and their abilities. The other is a finder, she finds things people don't realize they lost. (The cook's spoon, a guard's daughter, his father's heart.)

The good witch burns for this.  
Nick watches the guards drag her out, and tie her to the stake.  
His father stands froze, motionless, as he watches the one who he had fallen for burns. He does nothing, says nothing.  
His mother's smile is cruel, mocking, taunting, as she announces she is with child, kissing her father.  
Nick looks away, wondering when did his mother become a monster and his father a coward.  
The good witch sheds a single tear and says one word.  
"Grace."

He dreams of a crying girl, bending over a pot, hair dark.

The taller witch spits at his mother and he watches his mother hold a sword to her throat.  
He can see a fire in the witch's eyes, a fire that promises revenge.

She gets her revenge when his mother loses the child.  
He is seventeen and does not care.  
He refuses to stand by his mother as she orders the witch to burn.  
As the witch burns, he hears her laugh and he watches as the flowers around them begin to die.  
It's not long before other plants begin to die.  
He leaves the palace that night.  
He will find a way to save his people, to save the remaining witches, to avenge their deaths.

* * *

He meets a witch with blonde hair and eyes as green as the witch he watched burn as a child.  
She hums while she works, the chickens clucking around her, the wolves guarding her door.  
He stays a few nights in her inn, watching her, learning from her.  
She whispers about the Mad Queen's curse and the death of her sister at sixteen. She gives him a charm to tie around his wrist and a small whistle for when he needs it.  
May you find grace.  
He dreams of the dark-haired girl, singing.

The next witch he meets teaches him how to fight. She is a mother, wife to a former guard, a warrior. She has a scar that runs down her back and a coldness in her eyes that disappears when she looks at her child. He stays with her for three months and she is relentless. He goes to bed tired and sore. The training he received is no match to a warrior witch.  
When it is time for him to leave, she presses a firm kiss to his lips and slips a dagger into his belt.  
"May you find grace."  
He dreams of the girl again, this time she is a field and stands in the rain. He can feel the drops.

He meets a trio of warlocks, who travel with him. They tell him stories and when they head into towns, he watches them sway to the beat as they play their music. He watches a witch join them, magic coming out of her voice. He is awestruck.  
The witch joins him and he learns that her soft, voice is her weapon.  
He watches her order his mother's guards away, he watches her order a man to slit his own throat.  
He is not sad to leave her behind, as he realizing that magic is not always good, it's dangerous.  
When he tells her that, she smiles.  
"Let it be a lesson you don't forget. May you find Grace."  
He travels from town to town, meeting and learning from the witches.

* * *

He is twenty, six months from being twenty-one, having spent two years traveling, searching for a way to save his dying kingdom, when he finds grace.  
Or rather she finds him.  
Grace is a young woman.  
She is the girl from his dreams.  
She is only eighteen but her eyes are dark.  
She stands in a field in a blue dress, dark hair fluttering in the wind. Her name is out of his throat before he even knows it. She holds out a hand and a Raven lands on her arm. She feeds it before it takes off. He calls her name again and she turns. The first thing she does when she sees him is a snarl.  
"Your mother murdered my mother and my aunt. Why should I help you?"  
"Because every witch or warlock who I have met and told me to find Grace, they told me to find you."  
she shakes her head.  
"Well, you have come to the wrong witch."  
She holds up her hands.  
"I have no magic within me."  
She spins on her heels leaving him outside but her door is open.  
Dinner is a silent affair and he thinks it will be silent until they fight over her bed.  
Outside thunder rumbles but he holds firm.  
She takes the bed and he takes the rug.

* * *

She shares her meals with him, but besides that, she doesn't speak much and when she does her words are angry.  
But still, he learns about her, dead mother, dead father, dead aunt, dead sister, guard brother. She is all alone, her brother long gone.  
He hears her crying one night, two months in, and he reaches for her hand.  
"Will you hold me?"  
He climbs into bed and wraps his arms around her. She is small and warm and alive.  
She smells like wildflowers and the grass after it rains.  
Her hands grasp his shoulders and she buries her nose into his neck.

She doesn't say anything when she wakes up the next day.  
But every nightmare, she invites him to her bed.  
She starts to speak to him, tells him her stories.  
Her mother, the good witch, was named Cassie, and her aunt, the enchantress, was Abby.  
She fights with him, he teaches her how to hold a sword and she teaches him how to hold a bow.  
He brings her wildflowers and she smiles at him.  
One night, she is stirring a pot of soup and he can hear the birds chirping and he can hear music.  
So he grabs her hand and spins her around the room.  
She throws her head back and laughs.  
But they slow down, moving slowly, softly.  
The air between them sparks with electricity.  
Then he moves and she meets him halfway.  
The kiss is hard, the type to leave a mark, but as his hands move down her body, it turns slow.  
He walks her to the table and she breaks away from him, breathing hard, eyes boring into his.  
She reaches for his shirt and undoes the first two buttons.  
His eyes are dark and he scoops her up and carries her to the bed and they fall back. She laughs and its the prettiest sound he has ever heard.  
He takes his time and outside a storm rumbles.  
When they finally do meet as one, lighting strikes, but neither prince or witch realize it.  
Thier are in their own little bubble, his groans and her moans the only sounds they register.

He wakes up to an empty bed but as he scans the room, he sees her standing in the kitchen, naked as the day she was born.

He gets out of bed and makes his way towards her and places his hands on her hips, allowing her to step away.  
Instead, she steps back, so her ass is pressed firmly against him.  
She moves her head, barring her neck and he skims his teeth against her skin, his hands tightening around her hips.  
"My Prince."  
It's a soft purr and he closes his eyes.  
"My witch."  
She doesn't bother to argue with him.

* * *

Their newfound happiness does not last long.  
Time passes quickly and he knows it is time to go home.  
He has to save his kingdom, his people, his happiness, his heart be dammed.  
He tells Grace this and she stills, her hands clench his and he pulls her close.  
He knows she won't go with him (to the place where her mother and aunt were murdered) and he can't ask her too.  
His mother would burn her and he can't stand to see another witch, much less one he loves burn.

The day he leaves, he wakes up at sunrise and simply looks at Grace. He looks at her pink lips and dark curls. He looks at her and tries to memorize her, the way she smells, the way she sleeps, the way she looks in his arms. He is in love with this woman, this witch. She has managed to put him under her spell despite her claims of not having magic in her blood. He watches the sun filter through the window, bringing light to the room and to her body. There are two things he wants, to never see another witch burn and to wake up to Grace in his arms every morning. She kisses him goodbye and tucks a wildflower into his shirt pocket. He urges his horse (borrowed from the miller's son) into a gallop, not wanting to be tempted to look back and go back. He is to be king, his people must come first. The ride home is short and lonely, just him and his horse.

* * *

His kingdom is in disarray, people hurry to their homes, there is a fire burning, the flames leaping high, and his heart breaks when he sees the warlock trying to shield a witch who is trying to shield a child.  
"Enough mother."  
She smiles at him and he wonders if she always had teeth that sharp. His mother had always been beautiful but that moment she was beautiful in a terrible, bloodthirsty way. Dressed in red, a crown on her head, a stick in her hand, ready to burn the witches, she was deadly beautiful.  
"Nickolas. You have come just in time to claim your throne. Stand by me. Light the fire. Purge the evil."

He thinks of Grace and her laughs, of Summer and her chickens, of Ben and his books, of Rose and her knives, of Abby and her flowers, of Cassie, of all the witches and warlocks he has met.  
He thinks of what Summer had told him one late night.

* * *

  
_The Mad Queen was once a witch."_  
_He jerks up from his drawing pad, startled He had been having trouble sleeping (dreaming of the brown-haired girl) and had crept down to the bar and had begun to draw. He had not realized that it was closing time nor that he was the last one there._  
_"What?"_  
_"The Mad Queen was once a witch."_  
_She leans on the bar across from him, long blonde hair pulled up, eyes big and solemn, nothing like the girl who had hummed in the kitchen earlier or who had flirted with a few men a few hours prior._  
_"What?"_  
_"The Mad Queen was once a powerful witch- beautiful and strong. But power can be dangerous and she craved it. She used her magic to become a queen. She gave birth to a daughter, fair and calm. The girl was powerful too, she grew into her magic quickly, it was rumored she had power over water. But the queen wanted a son and she tried and tried and the kingdom grumbled about it. So the queen in desperation used really old and dark magic, the kind that one must pay a price for and used it to bare a son. She had the son but that type of magic must have it's price and took her powers when she refused to pay the price. The queen sought a way to get her powers back and she used her daughter to do so. Blood magic is powerful and dangerous if done incorrectly. It resulted in the loss of her daughter and it was all for nothing as she never regained her powers. The queen sought a way to bring her back to life but no witch- good or bad will dare do that. There are some barriers that must not be crossed. The queen, in fury, vowed to find a way to get her powers back and will destroy every witch to do so. "_  
_Nick was stunned._  
_"I am...."_  
_Summer's hand grazes his cheek._  
_"You were born of magic, you have it in your blood."_

* * *

The idea that he has magic in his blood makes this personal.  
His mother was a former witch, burning other magic users, his people.  
He may not have power but they are still his people.  
He thinks about Summer's low voice flirting, of Rose laughing with as he stumbles over his feet trying to hit her, or Shawn playing his guitar eyes on Luna.  
They are a part of him.

He looks at his mother.  
"The only thing that must be purged is you, mother. Your reign is over. Step down peacefully and no blood will be shed."  
She throws her head back and laughs but it sounds more like a cackle.  
"The only blood that will be shed is yours."  
He draws the knife that Rose had given him all those months ago.  
It's beautiful, with roses and thorns etched onto its side.  
As he holds the knife, its as if he can hear Rose in his head, yelling at him to stand up straight, hold the knife, and watch.  
He and his mother circle each other.  
She strikes first and he jumps out of her way.  
The guards standstill as does everyone else.  
This a fight between the Queen and the Prince. 

As he ducks and weaves, he catches sight of a dog and thinks of Summer, which makes him think of the whistle, which is around his neck.  
Thinking allows him other to draw blood on his arm and he counteracts with a knife swept to her leg.  
His hand finds the whistle and he blows.  
His mother laughs.  
"Do you think they will come? Let them come, I will burn them all."  
The flames jump higher but then he hears it.  
Thunder rumbling, the sky turns purple.  
The sound of howling.  
Then he hears the sound of pounding feet and all eyes turn towards the gate.  
He looks at his mother who looks in shock as a pack of wolves breaks down her gate, a girl riding the one in front.  
It's Summer.  
But behind her, he recognizes all the others he met on his travels.  
Rose is there, knives in her hand.  
Shawn is there, guitar in his hand, Luna sitting behind him.  
But his then he sees her.  
Grace, armed with her bow.

Thunder rumbles louder.

His mother laughs and he watches Rose slide off the wolf, knives in her hand.  
"Brave little witches. Guards attack."  
She sweeps her hand and they rush.  
He hears Rose's bloodcurdling scream and he hears Luna's deadly siren-like singing. He sees an arrow whiz above his head and then he sees his mother running away.  
He runs after her.  
They run up a tower and when she gets to the top, she whirls around.  
"This is where your sister died."  
That makes him angry, he can hear his heart pounding. "She didn't die, you killed her."  
There's a pause, and then a cackle.  
"Oh, right, I did kill her; and this is where I kill you."  
She lunges and he ducks.

He's thankful for Rose's lessons as he realizes that without them, he would be a goner.  
His mother may not have her magic but there was no denying her cunning.  
She moved quickly and efficiently and he couldn't help but wonder how much of a role magic played into his mother becoming queen. 

As they near the edge, he stumbled over a loose cobblestone and that's when she strikes.  
One second, one second and then he has a knife in his stomach, his eyes are wide.  
He looks at his mother in shock, he knew his mother was cruel and desperate but a part of him believed that she wouldn't actually kill him.  
But the blade in his chest was hers.

Thunder rumbles and then lighting strikes and that's when he hears it, a scream.  
_"Nick!" ___

He feels himself crumbling backwards onto the ground.  
Overhear the thunder is loud and the lighting is brighter.

* * *

Grace has never been taught how to control her emotions. Her mother was calm, her aunt had a temper, she was taught to remain calm.  
She had no magic, she was no witch, but she could control her emotions.  
When she heard that her mother had died, she had cried as the rain poured down.  
When the Prince had stumbled onto her front step, she had felt a hot sharp of anger but she shut it down.  
She wanted him to leave but there was something in her that told him to stay.  
She told herself it would be one night.  
And one night become one week which became one month which became more.  
She had ranted about Prince Nick to Anthony Miller who had looked at her fondly and began to refer to as "Princess."  
She told herself that she would not fall for the Prince, she could not.  
She told him that she wasn't a witch.  
His mother had burned hers.  
But things change.  
She finds herself opening up, telling him about her family.  
Then one night he gives her flowers and he's kissing her.  
For the first time, she lets her emotions take over, she lets herself go, she lets herself feel.  
The storm outside is loud but is calm.  
When he touches her skin the next morning, she knows that she can never not feel, not when he's around.

It frightens her and intices her.

The day he leaves, it pours.  
It rains for days as she mopes around the house.  
Then she is angry.  
She knew better than to fall for a prince but she had fallen away.  
Outside, thunder roared and lightning flashed and she screamed.  
A few hours later Anthony and Courtney rushed into her house, soaking wet and both wrapped them arms around her shaking form as they sat on the ground.  
As she calmed, so did the storm.

She looked at her friends.  
"The storms... I'm.... I'm a witch."  
They nod.  
"People in town assumed but your mother and aunt were good so they never said a word. People also suspected you were one too especially after the storms matched your quick moods."  
"My mother and aunt taught me to control my emotions."  
She thinks of how she was so sure she wasn't a witch, which makes her think of Nick.  
"Nick, I have to go to him. I have to help him. His mother... she's the Mad Queen."  
The nod and it doesn't take long for her to pack her things.  
She gets on a horse and rides, it's not long before she is joined by the other witches and warlocks Nick had told her about.  
They whisper her name in reverence and she feels calm.

The calm doesn't last as she lays eyes on the woman who murdered her mother.  
Then she sees Nick and she readies her bow.  
She has the advantage, she's the only one who knows about her powers as she had not mentioned it to the others.  
She launches arrow after arrow but her mind is on Nick.  
She catches sight of him on a tower and that's when the world seems to stop.  
She watches him stumble back and she hears Rose gasp.  
She sees the knife handle and she screams and the world shatters.  
Thunder roars, lightning strikes, and the winds howl as the sky turns a deep purple.  
Nick has fallen.  
She pulls of the fur of the wolf she is riding and it bounds up the stairs.  
When she sees Nick on the ground, she falls to her knees beside him.  
_"Nick. Nick, Nick." ___  
She places his head onto her lap, her fingers in his dark soft hair and she lets herself feel.  
The storm picks up and she locks eyes with the Mad Queen.  
"So my son has fallen in love with a little witch."  
"This little witch has power you can only dream to have."  
The winds whip around them, the queen's dress flying and her loose hair whipping around her face.

* * *

Nick opens his eyes to see Grace and his hand reaches for hers. She looks down at him and he mouths,  
_"Burn her." ___  
It's only fitting that his mother should die the same fate as the witches she had murdered.  
He grasps the knife that Rose had given and pushes himself up, his hand links with Grace.

___He looks at his mother and for the first time in his life, she looks scared._  
But he no longer feels for her.  
He thinks about the magic in his blood, the sister he never knew, the witches and warlocks he had watched burn, the ones that he had met, of Grace and he can't feel anything for the woman who birthed him.  
"This ends here mother."  
"Nick, please."  
He throws the knife and Grace holds up her hands the winds steady as it makes it way into his mother's chest.  
She screams and falls backwards and Grace thrust her arms down and he watches hsi mother head tot h fire, the winds guiding her.  
He and Grace stand on the tower and they watch her burn, they listen to her screams. 

* * *

The people cheer when he takes his throne.  
The day after his mother burned, he had the fires removed the other witches helped put the kingdom back in order.  
His people were hesitant, used to seeing witches die, but eager to integrate them back into the world.  
When his mother died, the curse Abby had placed on the kingdom was lifted, plants bloomed overnight and the people cheered as they were able to take bites of the bright red apples in the trees.  
Summer coaxes the birds back, Luna sings at his coronation, Shawn, Seth, and Seamus travel across the kingdom and they bring back books of magic, and he refills the library.  
Ben's grandson comes and he sets to work organizing the books his grandfather had searched through.  
And Grace she stands by his side through it all.

* * *

As soon as they went down the stairs, he had stumbled, the blood still coming from where he had been stabbed.  
She had screamed and the storm whipped.  
As the doctors and healers worked on him, Grace sat surrounded by the others and the storm became a steady rain.  
When he opened his eyes and saw her there, his heart leaped and he reached for her.  
When she opened her eyes to see him, she smiled and he heard the rain slow down (and according to Luna a rainbow appeared).  
He asked, "Stay?"  
She pressed her lips tp his hands and nodded in agreement.

* * *

The people love Grace and when she isn't reading or drawing, she is in town talking with the people and playing with the children.  
She feeds the guards and tends to the sick.  
She is the queen his people needs and he can't wait until she is his, in the eyes of his people. (As far as he is concerned, she is already his.)

* * *

The day she becomes Queen, the day she becomes his wife, the streets are full of people.  
Dressed in purple, she is a vision and he falls more in love with her.  
He picks her up, spinning her around as he kisses her and she laughs. It rains around them but not on them, it's light, happy.  
She holds his hand as they speak to their guests, never straying too far from each other.  
He carries her to bed that night and they laugh, trying to undo her dress.  
They fall back onto the bed, lips fused together. He wakes up to find her standing by the window, he admires her naked form, his eyes taking in her beauty and the marks he made on her, showing the world that she is his.  
He gets out of bed and this time instead of hesitating he pulls her back against hi, and presses a kiss to her shoulder.

"My Witch."  
"My Prince."  
"My Queen."  
"My King."  
She turns around to wrap her arms around his neck and kisses him.  
A light mist covers thier land and a rainbow is seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will most likely be the last one I write for this couple unless I really really get inspired or a prompt for these two.  
> Thank you for reading this, for the kudos, and comments.


End file.
